Last month, Southampton Solent university student Beth Norman held her final year exhibition at Soho’s Illamasqua make-up store, and Talent Management was very impressed with the results!

Already fans of the cult British beauty brand that’s dedicated to self-expression, we thought Illamasqua made the perfect setting for the launch of Norman’s ‘Paint My World Colourful’ exhibition; a campaign that promotes diversity in fashion and beauty imagery.

The bloggers, students, and fashion and make-up lovers who turned up to see the exhibition were just as impressed as we were with the diverse beauty on show. But where did she get this great brainwave to promote diversity?

We did some digging and found out that Norman credited a university visit from Caryn Franklin of All Walks – campaigners of diverse beauty – as the inspiration behind her venture: “I love All Walks; I was overwhelmed when Caryn came to my university and immediately sought a way in which I could channel All Walk’s incredible energy in to something of my own.”

For her end of year project, the student chose to organise a ‘marathon run’ of editorial photoshoots, which featured every model type imaginable, including different ethnicities, sizes, shapes and looks.

“Every model I have used for this project has been alternative or not ‘the norm’ – I have used bald models, tall models, plus size models and even cross dressing models…all of them are from different backgrounds and ethnicities, all of them are beautiful.”

Styling her models in a mirage of colourful polkadots and fringed necklaces, Norman describes the idea behind her campaign: “Image is important to me, I am a stylist so I just love playing with textures and colours – collaging! People say you shouldn’t put certain things together – I think it is about finding the right shades and textures. It is the same with models, one of the models here today is a size 16 and she is amazing! That is just not the norm in the fashion industry.”

So what’s next for this pioneering student making headway in the appreciation of diverse beauty? “I think the more up-and-coming creatives who get involved in this, the more likely it is that there will be a shift. We can have a brighter fashion industry, one that caters for every one. I hope to keep pushing the boundaries…”

With this great attitude to all-inclusive beauty, we look forward to seeing what Norman will create after she graduates. In the meantime, check out this cool video of the ‘Paint My World Colourful’ event at Illamasqua’s store, shot by Jay Wennington.

Paint My World Colourful from Jay Wennington on Vimeo.